DIY decor for your bathroom: Silver wall tiles

Make sure the area you are going to tile is level, clean and free of grease. Apply the tiles to the wall with tile adhesive, starting in the bottom-left corner. Work along the bottom row, placing tile spacers between the tiles.

Once you have tiles the first line, use a spirit level to check the tiles are straight and even. Repeat the process until you have covered the area you are tiling. If your tiles don't fit exactly you will need to cut them to size using a tile cutter.

Leave the tile adhesive to dry for 24 hours, then remove the tile spacers and apply grout, carefully working on one tile at a time. Wipe over the tiles with a damp cloth to remove any excess grout and leave to dry.


You will need: sandpaper, water-resistant tile adhesive, silver or aluminium tiles, tile spacers, spirit level, tile cutter, tile grout, clean-damp cloth.
Time needed: 30 minutes plus drying

DIY Decor: Crackle-glazed kitchen doors

Remove doors, sand down thoroughly and wipe with white spirit to remove fine dust and any residual grease. Paint with two coats of your chosen base colour. When dry, apply the crackle glaze with a paintbrush and leave according to manufacturer's instructions - usually around half an hour. Paint on your chosen top coat in even brush strokes and leave. As it dries, the crackling will occur - do not brush after the crackling begins.

What you will need: screwdriver, sandpaper, white spirit, 2 coordinating emulsion colours, crackle glaze kit, paintbrush.

Time needed: 1 and a half hours plus drying

Planning & decorating your bathroom - An introduction

The bathroom can often be overlooked when it comes to planning and decoration, yet it is a space that is used on a daily basis by the whole family - for getting ready for the day, having a relaxing soak in the bath or perhaps an invigorating and refreshing shower. A bathroom should offer and opportunity for relaxation and tranquility, so it needs to be a private and peaceful environment for everyone to enjoy.

Planning
Careful planning and research are the key factors in creating a bathroom that's right for you. You need to consider all the options and variations that are available, so you can come up with a plan that suits your needs and requirements, as well as meeting a realistic budget you can work to. It is vital to consider who will be using the room - will it be a busy space for the whole family, or a relaxing peaceful retreat?

It is a good idea to start with a scaled plan to help you work out the exact measurements of your bathroom and hence the space you have available. It is very easy to make a plan of the room yourself using graph paper. Cut out the items (such as a bath, wash basin and so on) that you will beincluding in your bathroom in scale with the room plan you make. Many bathroom companies feature these scaled plans in their catalogues or can often help you to plan and design a bathroom that suits all your requirements. They will also help you to work our realistic spaces for the areas you are designing - for instance, it is important to allow atleast 50cm of space infront of the wash basin and adequate elbow room on either side. Make sure you note down all the permanent fixtures on your plan, such as doors, windows, radiators and plumbing points. You can then work out how the bathroom features fit and work best within the space you have, trying out different option and variation.

Inspiration: 100 Bright Ideas for Bathrooms byTamsyn Weston
More bathroom decor ideas... Click here

Kitchen decor ideas: Cinnamon stick picture frame

Cut the cinnamon sticks to size using sharp pruning shears - the sticks can be wider than the frame. Lay the frame face on a firm, flat surface and cover the top edge generously with glue. Lay the sticks on to the frame, pushing them tightly together, across the full width of the frame. Repeat along the bottom edge, then fit more sticks into the gaps along the sides.

You will need: cinnamon sticks, small - very sharp pruning shears, flat picture frame, strong glue.

Time needed: 30 minutes plus drying

Kitchen decor ideas

Mixing the old with the new.

Create a kitchen with old-fashioned charm and clean, modern lines.

Blending elements of traditional kitchens with modern style kitchens can give you the best of both worlds. Here, different worksurfaces are used around the kitchen - wood for food preparation and granite either side of the cooker for putting down hot dishes.

Space above the cooker has been brought into play by installing a smaller wall cupboard that won't get in the way, with extra slots either side and at the end for recipe books. Simple details like this give the kitchen more interest than a solid run of wall cupboards.

All the colour comes from the rich, yellow units. What gives this kitchen a modern twist is that everything is absolutely plain: the off-white walls do not even have a splashback, the floor is bare boards. It all adds up to a clean, spacious look that manages to be warm and welcoming at the same time.

For more decor inspiration... visit www.decordirect.co.za

Rustic windowsill pots

Cover some containers in fabric and others in paper. Cut the fabric and tear the paper to size. Wrap around the container several times, allowing extra at the top of the pot to be folded over or arranged to hide the top edge of the pot. Bind with string or copper wire and fray the top edge of the fabric.
You will need: cans or jars, plain, film fabric, thick brown paper, scissors, string or copper wire.
Time needed: 15 minutes

A sense of romance... interior decor idea.

Jewel-bright silks and pared-down sensuality

Banners of shot silk in jewel-bright pink, red and mauve are the only adornment at these elegant French windows.

The rich colours glow with even more intensity with the sunlight shining through them, and bathe the entire room in a soft sensual glow.

The mood is romantic without being over-feminine - indeed the arrangemant is almost minimal; with cooler colours and no cushions an entirely different atmosphere would be created.

The clean lines of the modern daybed are covered in plain lilac boucle wool and all the decorative detail is concentrated in the cushions - exquisite concoctions in embroidered silks, ikat weaves and painterly florals that pick up on the principle colours.

Inspiration: Thinkcolour by Tricia Guild

For more decor ideas click www.decordirect.co.za